A river runs through it: Twilight adds a tranquil cast to the Russian River, as seen from the Guerneville Bridge. Nearby lies Johnson's Beach, which bustles in the summer with sunbathers, kayakers, swimmers and others drawn to the shallow but cold water. Founded in 1918, the family-owned campground and resort attracts a diverse crowd typical of Guerneville.

Photo: Jeanne Cooper / Special To SFGate

A river runs through it: Twilight adds a tranquil cast to the...

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A rebounding market: Although the economic downturn of 2008 and changing patterns in LGBT travel brought empty storefronts to Guerneville, according to resident and Sonoma County Tourism marketing manager Beth Snow, newer restaurants such as the artisanal-locavore Big Bottom Market, pictured, and art galleries have revitalized the town's Main Street, a/k/a River Road. The market is named for the Russian River's alluvial flood plain, which earned Guerneville the nickname "Big Bottom" in the 1860s.

Photo: Jeanne Cooper/Special To SFGate

A rebounding market: Although the economic downturn of 2008 and...

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Buck's is back: Reopened in April, the renovated Buck's Rivermill Dinner Theatre includes an upstairs lounge/restaurant, pictured, that features a restored 1967 mural—once hidden by mirrors—painted by a Guerneville legend known as "Cowboy Bill." Chef Diz Struffle's eclectic, moderately priced menu includes pickles fried in cornmeal ($7), a vegetarian steak and tater tot soup in a sourdough bowl ($11) and campfires ($5), a s'mores-like dessert with chocolate-covered bacon flambéed at the table.

A new stage: Buck's Rivermill Dinner Theatre, a couple blocks off Guerneville's Main Street, includes whimsical decor on the stairs to its newly restored theater, which recently hosted the Miss Gay S.F. preliminary pageant. During Lazy Bear Weekend—another Guerneville tradition, held July 30-Aug. 4 this year—Buck's will host a Bear Movie Night, a Country-Western Tea Dance and a concert by the Kinsey Sicks.

Photo: Jeanne Cooper/Special To SFGate

A new stage: Buck's Rivermill Dinner Theatre, a couple blocks off...

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Tranquil forest: Coast redwoods—the world's tallest living things, which can grow as high as 350 feet—tower over a trail at Armstrong Redwoods State Natural Reserve in Guerneville. Two of the most famous residents in the 805-acre park are the Colonel Armstrong Tree, estimated to be over 1,400 years old and named for the grove's former owner, and Parson Jones Tree, the tallest at 310 feet high.

Photo: Sonoma County Tourism

Tranquil forest: Coast redwoods—the world's tallest living...

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Mini golf for the ages: Pee Wee Golf & Arcade, which opened in 1948, is credited with inspiring "much of the surreal landscape of post-World War II miniature golf courses" by RoadsideAmerica.com. Its colorful sculptures can be found at 16155 Drake Road, just south of the Guerneville bridge over the Russian River.

Photo: Sonoma County Tourism

Mini golf for the ages: Pee Wee Golf & Arcade, which opened in...

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A taste for art:The Blue Door Gallery is one of a number of Guerneville merchants supporting the town's First Friday Art Walks, which began in April 2012. Held from 3 to 8 p.m. the first Friday of each month, the event includes receptions inside art galleries, studios and stores, with art vendors and musical acts on the sidewalks of Main Street. Stop by Sonoma Nesting Company for a guide to participants.

Pottery barn: At Guerneville's First Friday Art Walk in June, several artists set up tables along Main Street to sell their ceramics. The nearby Austin Creek State Recreation Area is home to a historic art studio known as Pond Farm Pottery, part of a former art colony in the redwoods made famous by World War II refugee Marguerite Wildenhain.

Photo: Jeanne Cooper / Special To SFGate

Pottery barn: At Guerneville's First Friday Art Walk in June,...

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Night and day: Pat's, a traditional American diner and an institution on Guerneville's Main Street since 1945, transforms itself in the evening into the equally popular Dick Blomster's Korean Diner. Introduced in late 2012, the nighttime menu features inventive Korean American items such as Korean Fried Crack (fried chicken with a ginger vanilla slaw), kimchi fried rice and mac 'n' cheese with kalbi ribs.

Photo: Jeanne Cooper / Special To SFGate

Night and day: Pat's, a traditional American diner and an...

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Sweet surprise: A dessert bowl of peanut butter and jelly sandwiches fried in pancake batter and served with vanilla ice cream and Pop Rocks has been a signature dish at Dick Blomster's Korean Diner in Guerneville since it first opened in the same Main Street location as a pop-up called Hi-Five. Open for breakfast and lunch as the American diner Pat's, the innovative Dick Blosmter's is open nightly from 5 to 10 p.m., and till 2 a.m. Friday and Saturday.

Photo: Jeanne Cooper / Special To SFGate

Sweet surprise: A dessert bowl of peanut butter and jelly...

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Island style: Among the newer generation of restaurants on Guerneville's Main Street is the casual Ono'z, which offers a Hawaiian fusion menu (including shave ice), tropical-inspired decor and occasional evenings of Hawaiian music and hula. This month brings performances by the ukulele duo Sweet Strings from 6 to 8 p.m. July 11 and 18.

Photo: Jeanne Cooper / Special To SFGate

Island style: Among the newer generation of restaurants on...

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Mollusks on Main: The Seaside Metal Oyster Bar, an offshoot of San Francisco's Bar Crudo, opened in downtown Guerneville in late March. The seasonal menu takes advantage of the town's location just 13 miles west of the ocean—a winding scenic drive along River Road (Hwy. 116).

Vintage appeal: An eclectic array of new and used apparel—from brightly hued cowboy boots and aloha shirts to tie-dyed skirts and Chico's blouses—plus quirky cards and gifts have made Seconds First a veteran among Guerneville's Main Street shops.

Photo: Jeanne Cooper / Special To SFGate

Vintage appeal: An eclectic array of new and used apparel—from...

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Local perk: Around the corner from Main Street on Armstrong Woods Road, Coffee Bazaar has been a gathering place for Guerneville residents and visitors since 1983, serving three meals a day as well as coffee drinks and baked goods.

Photo: Jeanne Cooper/Special To SFGate

Local perk: Around the corner from Main Street on Armstrong Woods...

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Speaking volumes: Next to Coffee Bazaar on Armstrong Woods Road, Twice Told Books has a captivating selection of some 10,000 used books, plus a few new tomes, as well as whimsical gifts for adults and children, artful greeting cards and stationery. It's open daily from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. (till 5 in winter).

Boutique chic: Opened in 2008, the chic Boon Hotel+Spa is the latest iteration of several modern hotels on the site of former miners' lodgings on Armstrong Woods Road in Guerneville. The 14 rooms and cottage-style suites feature modern Danish-inspired decor with cork floors, reclaimed redwood furniture and organic linens; breakfast and coffee can be delivered to guests in their rooms or served by the pool.

Culinary enclave: Boon Eat+Drink, the companion restaurant to Boon Hotel+Spa, emphasizes locally sourced ingredients, including organic vegetables from the garden behind the Main Street restaurant as well as those grown at the hotel a few minutes' away. The starter of flash-fried Brussels sprouts have been popular since the restaurant opened in 2009, a forerunner in upgrading Guerneville's dining scene. The restaurant shares an owner with the nearby Big Bottom Market gourmet deli, which opened in July 2011.

Cozy cottages: A vacation destination since the 1890s, Guerneville and surrounding Russian River communities include many small resorts, such as the Cottages on River Road, about a mile east of downtown Guerneville. The resort offers 19 cottages and studios with wet bars (refrigerator, coffeemaker, microwave and sink), flat-screen TVs and free Wi-Fi. Pictured: One of the bedrooms in a two-bedroom cottage, fairly well-insulated from River Road's traffic noise.

Photo: Jeanne Cooper / Special To SFGate

Cozy cottages: A vacation destination since the 1890s, Guerneville...

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Garden oasis: Tall redwoods line one side of the Cottages on River Road, where cottages are flanked by gardens and face a lawn with swimming pool and firepit. Guests congregate at the latter every night to enjoy complimentary s'mores and time under the stars, and in the morning collect continental breakfast in the lobby to enjoy in their rooms.

Rockin' on the river: Every other Thursday, Rockin' the River presents free concerts from 6 to 8 p.m. on the Guerneville Plaza, a/k/a Armstrong and River Roads, coinciding with the weekly Russian River Farmers' Market. This month's acts include the Poyntlyss Sistars Rockin' Show Band on July 17. Local restaurants such as Coffee Bazaar and Dick Blomster's offer special "lunchbox" menus during the shows. Pictured: Roy Rogers and Carlos Reyes perform at Rockin' the River in August 2013.

Even when the Russian River is flowing low, summer is high season for Guerneville, the funky, free-spirited town amid towering redwoods, 75 miles north of San Francisco.

Like the river, its fortunes tend to rise and fall, and rise again. A vacation destination for the Bay Area since the 1870s, the former logging town lost luster in the 1960s as air travel took off and winter floodwaters swept through. The arrival of gay and lesbian visitors and residents in the late '70s and early '80s sparked a renaissance of renovated resorts and new boutiques and restaurants, but not all survived the effects of the later AIDS epidemic.

The late '90s brought more floods, at a time when acceptance—if not downright wooing—of LGBT travelers was becoming more common. The economic downturns and dotcom busts of the last decade also took a toll on Guerneville, according to Beth Snow, a resident for the last 12 years and Sonoma County Tourism marketing manager. Her husband has lived in town since 1987.

"For a while it went through a period as an LGBT destination, when there weren't all these activities for gay people around the state, and its proximity to San Francisco was great," Snow said. "Then as acceptance grew and people started traveling more to other places, that appeal subsided to a certain extent, and then during the economic downturn, a lot of the little boutiques had to pull out. There were a lot of empty windows, and it was a little depressing for more than a year."

But for the last few years, "Stumptown," as Guerneville was originally called, has been sprouting new shoots in and around Main Street, a/k/a River Road.

"A lot of art galleries have popped up in town. It's become kind a little artsy community, very eclectic," Snow noted. "And a lot of people are putting their attention into restaurants. There's so much focus on good food."

Newer arts and entertainment events such as the biweekly Rockin' the River and the monthly First Friday Art Walk add to the energy generated by staples such as the Russian River Jazz & Blues Festival and Lazy Bear Weekend, now in their 38th and 18th years, respectively. Classic attractions such as Armstrong Woods, Johnson's Beach and Pee Wee Golf also continue to attract a diverse crowd, which may be another part of Guerneville's enduring appeal.

"When you see people coming to town, there are a lot of LGBT people, but also families and young, hip people from the San Francisco Bay Area," Snow said. "They want to find somewhere that's just a little bit on the edgy side, and Guerneville still has a little bit of that edginess."

See the photogallery above for details on what's notable and/or new in Guerneville, and share your travel tips in the comments below.